Oil from a cargo stuck on a reef started to wash up at New Zealand's popular Mount Maunganui beach on Oct. 10. The Liberia-flagged MV Rena struck the Astrolabe Reef about 14 miles off Tauranga Harbour early Oct. 5. Teams from the Maritime New Zealand agency are racing to pump oil from the leaking ship, ahead of forecast gale-force winds and swells. Some 30 tons of oil have already leaked, with fears that 1,700 tons could be released. Prime Minister John Key is demanding answers, telling reporters in Tauranga that the Rena had "ploughed into" the reef at 17 knots in calm conditions "for no particular reason," despite being a "major ship" owned by a "significant international shipping company." The reef is in the wildlife-rich Bay of Plenty, and at least eight oil-fouled seabirds have been rescued from the slick. (AP, AlJazeera, Dominion Post, Wellington, Fairfax Media, New Zealand, Oct. 10; BBC News, Oct. 9)

Riot police in Tunis used tear-gas on Oct. 9 to disperse hundreds of young Islamists who fought back with stones, knives and sticks. At least 40 were arrested. The Islamists were protesting against Tunisia's long-standing ban on university enrollment by women who wear the niqab, or full-face veil, as well as a TV station's plan to broadcast animated film Persepolis, which they say denigrates their faith. Tunisians will vote in an Oct. 23 election for an assembly to draft a new constitution. The Islamist Ennahda party is expected to win the biggest share of the vote, alarming secularists. (AP, Reuters, Oct. 9)

Reporters Without Borders issued a statement protesting the Oct. 4 decision by a military court in Cairo to postpone the hearing of jailed blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad's appeal until Oct. 11. The postponement is way to keep Sanad in detention without hearing his case, the press freedom organization said. Family and supporters are more worried than ever about the young blogger’s deteriorating health, as he has now been on hunger strike for 48 days in protest of his detainment. However, at a press conference, his brother Mark said that Maikel is "staying strong and will not be broken."

At least 20 are dead after a march of 10,000 Copts on Cairo's state TV building was attacked by stone-throwing counter-protesters. A street battle ensued as the Coptic protesters fought back and hurled stones at their assailants. Gun shots were fired in the air as army troops intervened in the clash. Egyptian TV showed protesters throwing petrol bombs and army vehicles burning outside the television building. The dead include 16 protesters and two soldiers, with some 40 people injured. Among those killed are Mina Daniel, an activist and blogger; Wael Yunna, a journalist for Coptic TV; and Michael Mosaad, a leader of the Maspero Youth Union, which organized the protest.

Hundreds of Afghans marched through Kabul on Oct. 6—eve of the 10-year anniversary of the US military campaign in their country—to condemn United States forces as occupiers and demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops. About 300 men and women gathered early in the morning near a shrine in the city's center, holding placards and banners accusing the US of "massacring" civilians while denouncing President Hamid Karzai as a puppet of Washington. "Occupation—atrocities—brutality," read one sign, held by two women with scarves covering their head and face. (Reuters, Oct. 6)

Warlords are using threats to pressure municipal officials to fraudulently prepare ownership documents for the lands that they have already grabbed in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province, a local mayor said this week. Dozens of acres of land had been grabbed in Pul-i-Khumri by the strongmen, who are forcing municipal officials to give them ownership documents, Sahib Nazar Sangin told the local Pajhwok Afghan News. Employees of the land records department have been beaten up several times on order of the warlords, who have fighters and weapons at their disposal, the mayor complained. He added a retired general of the interior ministry, known as Habib, was among those who had seized the municipality's land in the Silo area, and is now using his influence and force to get documents. "Recently, the commander insulted me in my office for refusing to prepare documents for him," Sangin said.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a motion in the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta Oct. 7 to halt enforcement of a controversial Alabama law that expands restrictions on undocumented immigrants. The law requires school officials to verify the immigration status of children and parents, authorizes police to detain an individual and ask for papers if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" that the driver is in the country illegally, and requires businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to determine whether potential employees are legal residents.

Peru has leased its first five oil and gas exploration contracts since passing a new law designed to protect the country's indigenous peoples. Exploration blocks have been awarded to British firm Pitkin Petroleum (Lot 18, Piura region) and Colombia's Ecopetrol (Lot 179, Loreto region). Another British firm, Hydrocarbon Exploration, has contracts to explore two blocks (Lots 183 and 188, in Loreto and Ucayali). Another block is leased to Argentina's Tecpetrol (Lot 174, Ucayali). State agency PeruPetro said the companies, which won the exploration rights through a tender in July, re-signed in October with an added clause confirming "their commitment to strictly comply with the law of prior consultation." (FT, Oct. 4; RPP, Sept. 29; La Mula, Lima, Aug. 4)